SECTION 6 POSTS

Section 6 Posts are now available. You may go to "Older Posts" to reach Sections 4 and 5 and can continue to post there until Sunday, Nov. 29. Be sure to catch up if you are behind in your posting. I will be assessing the posts AFTER the 29th.

Catcher has been banned from many schools for its language and content. What's your opinion?

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

CHARACTERS - SECTION 6

Posted by at

13 comments:

  1. NickNovember 27, 2009 at 1:12 PM

    There are intersting characters in these last few chapters. Holden goes to see his sister Phoebe. Phoebe seems to be very caring towards her brother. She even gives her Christmas money to him. She also is concerned about his future after she finds out he was kicked out of school again. Phoebe is one of the characters that looks up to Holden and sees him as a role model.

    ReplyDelete
  2. NickNovember 27, 2009 at 1:23 PM

    Another character we meet is Mr. Antolini, Holden's old english teacher. He gives Holden guidance and tells him what he can amount to with school. We also learn that Mr. Antolini carried a student that committed suicide to hosipital which shows us that he cares for his students. He even offers Holden a place to sleep for the night which shows that Mr. Antoloni is very concerned for Holden. Awhile into the chapter, he starts to pet Holden's hair while he was asleep and Holden runs out and begins to think that Mr. Antolini is sort of strange.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Justin PNovember 27, 2009 at 1:23 PM

    It's almost as if Pheobe is the replacement for Allie in Holden's life. More often than not, boys would rather be close to other boys, family wise. Pheobe was the stand in for Allie since he wasn't around anymore.

    As for Mr. Antolini, he seems as the caregiver away from home, the one that Holden can always run to if he needs any parental guidance... When Antolini pets Holdens hair, it was a very parental type of thing to do and it made Holden estranged and bothered, perhaps because his own parents never did that sort of thing for him..?

    ReplyDelete
  4. CamNovember 27, 2009 at 1:25 PM

    I think the character of Phoebe is vital to the story, and especially this section. The real climax of this book is when Holden gets over all his negativity and lonliness, because of his sister. Phoebe is the human companion that Holden has been searching for to help get over his lonliness. Holden has also been caught between childhood and adulthood, and Phoebe helps him realize that it's okay, and they can be balanced. Although Holden has been doing adult things for the past few days and has been exposed to many adult things such as alcohol and a hooker; he still is very happy when he watches his sister on the merry-go-round, something very childish. Holden realizes he can enjoy both adult things and childish things, all thanks to Phoebe.

    ReplyDelete
  5. clariceNovember 27, 2009 at 1:25 PM

    I think Pheobe was my favorite character in the novel. Pheobe was very caring towards her brother like Nick said and she seems very smart for her age. I kinda wish Holden had stayed with her instead of running away when his parents got home. It made me sad to think that Pheobe really wanted him to stay with her.

    ReplyDelete
  6. CamNovember 27, 2009 at 1:31 PM

    I agree with what Justin said about Phoebe replacing Allie. He was very close to Allie in age and they were very good friends. Phoebe kind of fills the void left by Allie, and counters Holden's negativity with positive thoughts and childish fun. What Justin said about Mr. Antoli patting Holden's head, and it being a parental gesture; I think it's very interesting and probably right. Holden really overreacted to what happened and it might show his lonliness as well as his lack of parents maybe. His parents are obviously very wealthy and probably busy with work and other affairs such as parties and other things of that sort. Holden would be the type of person to misrepresent a parental gesture, especially with his lonliness and lack of true human companionship.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Adam OkanoNovember 27, 2009 at 2:13 PM

    I found it slightly creepy when Mr. Antolini was petting Holden's head. If that happened in present day Mr. Antolini would probably be arrested for some reason or another. But this was a different time and perhaps petting Holden's head was not looked at the same way back then as it is now. Either way it seemed odd that Holden freaked out so much. Seemed like a bit of an over reaction to me.

    ReplyDelete
  8. KyraNovember 27, 2009 at 2:40 PM

    I agree with Adam. I was really creeped out when I read about Mr. Antolini petting Holden's head while he was sleeping. I never really thought about what Justin said, that it was a parental gesture, but that could be true. But it's still a bit weird that he would do it to a boy while he's sleeping. But from what we read about Mr. Antolini, he does seem like a very kind, caring man, so I'm sure he didn't mean to freak Holden out. He just wanted him to feel safe. If I were in Holden's position, I would have freaked out a bit too.

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousNovember 29, 2009 at 1:31 PM

    I think that the reason that Mr. Antolini petted Holden's head was because he really cares for Holden. Since Mr. Antolini was very drunk he probably did not realize what he was doing even though it seemed like a homosexual act to Holden.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Daniel McDonaldNovember 29, 2009 at 3:13 PM

    I thought Phoebe was a very interesting character. She seemed like an average little girl from our society. It was obvious that she truely cared about Holden's choices and wanted him to succeed. I feel Phoebe is an important character for Holden to be around because she brings a positive aspect to his life.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Daniel McDonaldNovember 29, 2009 at 3:17 PM

    Also, I agree with Adam. Mr.Antolini's head petting seemed very strange. I undersatnd it was not his incentive to scare Holden, he was trying to comfort him. However, I would have completely freaked out as well if I woke up to a grown man petting my head!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Marc..November 29, 2009 at 8:53 PM

    In this section the character that i find a bit odd is Mr.Antolini how he was petting Holden's head even though it was a sign of comfort. I understand that he was trying to comfort Holden but i wouldn't want to have some old man petting my head. Also i am very fond of Holden in this section because he finally starts liking himself and stops being so lonely because of his wonderful sister Phoebe.

    ReplyDelete
  13. D.SDecember 2, 2009 at 9:23 PM

    I thought two important characters in these chapters would have to be phoebe his sister and Mr. Antolini. These two characters basically saved Holden from being an absolute no one and maybe even suicide in the future. Holden finally starts to see everyone around him to be more valuable. It is still unclear if he will fully recover from his past thoughts cause he still says in the end "Don't tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody". This just shows the reader that he still has his old feelings and problems that he has carried out through the whole story.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)